Strong Towns, a Minnesota-based non-profit group, encourages Americans to reconsider the way they develop their cities and towns. The group will give presentations throughout Idaho this week.

According to the group’s “Curbside Chat” presentations, America’s post-World War II model of building communities around the automobile needs to change, partly because it’s not financially sustainable. The cost of maintaining automobile-centric infrastructure is greater than the benefits we reap from it, according to the presentation.

As the country moves deeper into the 21st century, we will need to maximize value in our street and road standards, in part by moving toward more walking and biking, and away from driving, the group states. Transportation corridors with the sole purpose of moving automobile traffic as quickly as possible are a luxury we can’t afford, according to the group.

Strong Towns’ presentation starts at 6 p.m. Monday, in the Simplot A Ballroom of the Boise State University Student Union Building, 1700 University Dr.

The rest of this week, Strong Towns will give presentations in Caldwell, Idaho Falls, Driggs, Salmon, McCall, Lewsiton, Moscow, Coeur d’Alene and Ponderay.

The tour is sponsored by Conservation Voters for Idaho Education Fund, a non-profit organization whose stated mission is “to protect Idaho’s quality of life by identifying, engaging and mobilizing conservation-minded citizens.”

For a look at the Strong Towns presentation, visit the website www.curbsidechat.org.

For more information on Conservation Voters for Idaho Education Fund, visit http://www.voteconservationidaho.org.